Silva double steers Spain past Belgium

AFP, BRUSSELS: Spain earned a World Cup qualifying boost by beating Belgium 2-0 in an international friendly on Thursday thanks to a David Silva double.
Both sides were on the rebound from disappointing Euro 2016 campaigns with new coaches Roberto Martinez for Belgium and Basque Jolen Lopotegui for Spain.
Chelsea's Diego Costa teed up Silva to fire home confidently from the left of the penalty area on 34 minutes before the lively Manchester City midfielder converted a penalty on the hour.
The Brussels crowd booed the home side as Spain outpassed them and as Belgium resorted to defending deep, a section of the crowd even chanted the name of former coach Marc Wilmots. On his first outing in the Belgium hotseat, former Everton boss Martinez asked for patience from the fans.
“You can't expect major change in just three days and this result has no real meaning. What I do want to see, though, is passion and pride in wearing the national team jersey,” he said.
However, his side had produced just one shot on target during the 90 minutes and looked a pale imitation of even the team that fell to Wales in the Euro quarter-finals.
“Spain were much better than us. We lacked concentration and intensity,” moaned Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who plies his club trade for Chelsea.
“We were starved of the ball and played too many poor passes. And when it comes to mentality, it wasn't great.
“We need to play a lot better.”
For Spain, who played without injured playmaker Andres Iniesta, Costa linked up well with Sevilla left winger Vitolo, who played in the cross that set up Spain's opener.
And such was the domination of the Spaniards that Belgium's own playmaker Eden Hazard was pulled into his side's deep defensive play.
Spain begin their World Cup qualifiers against Lichtenstein on Monday while Belgium travel to Cyprus for their own opener.

Silva double steers Spain past Belgium

AFP, BRUSSELS: Spain earned a World Cup qualifying boost by beating Belgium 2-0 in an international friendly on Thursday thanks to a David Silva double. Both sides were on the rebound from disappointing Euro 2016 campaigns with new coaches Roberto Martinez for Belgium and Basque Jolen Lopotegui for Spain. Chelseas Diego Costa teed up Silva to fire homeconfidently from the left of the penalty area on 34 minutes before the lively Manchester City midfielder converted a penalty on the hour. The Brussels crowd booed the home side as Spain outpassed them and as Belgium resorted to defending deep, a section of the crowd even chanted the name of former coach Marc Wilmots. On his first outing in the Belgium hotseat, former Everton boss Martinez asked for patience from the fans. You cant expect major change in just three days and this result has no real meaning. What I do want to see, though, is passion and pride in wearing the national team jersey, he said. However, his side had produced just one shot on target during the 90 minutes and looked a pale imitation of even the team that fell to Wales in the Euro quarter-finals. Spain were much better than us. We lackedconcentration and intensity, moaned Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who plies his club trade for Chelsea. We were starved of the ball and played too many poor passes. And when it comes to mentality, it wasnt great. We need to play a lot better. For Spain, who played without injured playmaker Andres Iniesta, Costa linked up well with Sevilla left winger Vitolo, who played in the cross that set up Spains opener. And such was the domination of the Spaniards that Belgiums own playmaker Eden Hazard was pulled into his sides deep defensive play. Spain begin their World Cup qualifiers against Lichtenstein on Monday while Belgium travel to Cyprus for their own opener.